CSotD: Human Rights and other anachronisms
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Pedro X. Molina has standing to speak for human rights, having fled Nicaragua in order to preserve his own.
Somehow, the fact that yesterday was Human Rights Day didn’t hit my Intertubes until this morning, but I don’t think it matters a whole lot. Every day should be Human Rights Day, and, just as we shouldn’t only support soup kitchens on the holidays, we shouldn’t confine our interest in human rights to a particular day.
Besides, there was a time when we could look at the topic from atop a shining city on a hill, but it’s becoming a far more compelling local issue in our own country.
Not that we were ever perfect — here’s a memory from two decades ago — but nobody is perfect and we used to make a better effort. The (only possible) good thing about Abu Ghraib was that it shocked our consciences. It may have been who we were, but it wasn’t who we wanted to be.
We’ll get back to that.
There is some good news in the world, with Bashar al-Asad forced from power in Syria. There have been a lot of cartoons about Asad’s sanctuary in Moscow, mostly having to do with open windows, though I think Putin has enough on his mind right now without fussing over his new guest one way or the other.
This cartoon, rather, comes from Ali Ferzat, who was beaten and had his hands broken by Asad’s goons for having drawn cartoons which were not appropriately respectful.
But that’s all over, and even Israel wants to be friends with the new government of Syria, once they finish bombing the living sh*t out of its defenses. The US made some targeted strikes at what are believed to have been military sites linked to ISIS, but the Israelis aren’t into surgical moves, as Amnesty International has recently noted.
Patrick Blower notes the loss to Putin, but, as the other photos on his desk indicate, he’s still got plenty of friends, and if Asad had mattered to him, he might have done more to help him retain power. As it stands, it’s one less thing for him to worry about as the ruble tumbles, discontent grows and the Americans have just approved handing over Russia’s frozen assets to the cause of Ukrainian defense.
The fall of Asad is a blow to Iran’s prestige and we’ll have to see how that shakes out. Iran’s repressive government has always been more popular out in the rural countryside than in the more sophisticated cities. Draw your own parallels.
But Moroccan cartoonist Sanouni Imad (Cartoon Movement) suggests that sunshine is a strong disinfectant and is especially effective against vampires, and that concept applies to more than just the Syrian situation.
Which is as good a time as any to remind you that you can purchase art to support cartoonists’ rights during the current fundraising drive.
The source of that purifying sunshine is not just found in other countries, nor is it only endangered there. In this morning’s Candorville (KFS), Lemont’s words are carefully re-chosen to reflect the coming lack of frankness in our own press.
You shouldn’t be fooled by the idea that the First Amendment will protect reporters and cartoonists. When I had my notes from an interview with an accused murderer subpoenaed, I was prepared to stand fast, but I’m not sure the paper’s owners would have backed me.
It’s not necessary to defeat someone in the courtroom in order to destroy them: Attorneys’ fees will do a very good job of that, unless the case is so unbalanced that the court calls for reimbursement.
And boy-oh-boy is that becoming a crap game. Chuck Schumer is jamming through judicial confirmations before the government changes hands, but, as the man said, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
The Republicans in the Senate just put the brakes on a federal shield law to protect reporters’ rights to investigate without being turned into government agents, and I don’t expect it to come up again under the new administration.
Juxtaposition of the Day
In case you missed it, a subway vigilante who held a disruptive homeless man in a choke hold until he was dead was acquitted by a jury, and not only is the verdict being celebrated in conservative circles, but, as you see, Kelley feels the district attorney who presented the case should be imprisoned and Summers seems to think he should die, or at least rejoices that Bragg was foiled in his attempt to enforce the law.
The Republicans still campaign on law-and-order. Not only is killing people still against the law, but the rate at which it happens in New York City was a contention in the recent elections, with Dear Leader exaggerating the statistics and ignoring the decline in violent deaths.
But that was this fall. Now the election is over.
Pat Byrnes contrasts the jubilation over Daniel Penny’s acquittal with the high-level pursuit and capture of Luigi Mangione, which is also being celebrated.
Not only does he suggest that there is a difference in some people’s minds between killing a mentally ill homeless man and killing a corporate executive, but, on his BlueSky page, he posted a pretty convincing bit of evidence:
If this doesn’t convince you that 2+2=5, perhaps we should investigate you!
Juxtaposition of the Day #2
Ohman ridicules the notion of thrift as plotted within the wretched excesses of the tacky Trump bordello, while Wexler notes that few of us voted for Ramaswamy and none of us voted for Musk.
If you thought Dick Cheney over-reached as vice-president at least he was vice-president. Musk is reportedly buying a house near Mar A Lago.
And I think maybe JD Vance has gone fishing.
Deb Milbrath is not particularly subtle in suggesting that Dear Leader plans to profit from his role as a public servant.
Perhaps she’s referencing the $18 million he got from a bitcoin tycoon or his plan to have Republicans hold a retreat at his properties or maybe she simply misunderstood his suggestion of how plutocrats could avoid government regulations:
Worst part being that, while I can’t verify the authenticity of this, it sure does sound like him.
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